Taking inspiration from the gear surveys posted by Mac at Halfway Anywhere, let’s collect some data about a Canadian long-distance thru-hike: the Great Divide Trail (GDT).
At 1,130 km, the GDT is one of Canada’s main thru-hiking routes. The route is unsigned at times, there’s no trail other times, or the trail used to be there at one time, but isn’t any more. It crosses the divide no less than 30 times and takes you through some gorgeous terrain.
The GDT was my second thru-hike and was a little harder to plan for than my first thru, the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT). It also required more planning and preparation than the PCT. There weren’t as many planning resources available for the GDT, which made decisions like what jacket should I bring (does it need to protect me from the wind, or keep me dry), what rating of sleeping bag will keep me warm and what kind of food storage is required (are we talking rodents, bears, a combination of both) a little more difficult.
While I was thankful to have a few friends who have previously hiked the GDT and were happy to talk about it, I realized not everyone is in the same boat. So this survey asks a variety of questions with the aim to publish the results in a useable way. I love a good infographic.
Since this is the first year I’ve collected data, the survey is open to anyone who has hiked the GDT in any year. Moving forward, we’ll limit the survey to those who have hiked it in the most recent year. But since so few people do the GDT, I want to collect as much useful data for you as I can. In future years, I anticipate the survey will be limited to the previous year’s hikers.
The survey will be open for a couple of weeks to maximize responses in this first year.
Have you hiked the Great Divide Trail? Fill out our survey.
Results will be published here, so stay tuned!
